Secrets, Lies, and Goodbyes 1
by McGonagall's Bola
Summary: Horatio and Calleigh have been dating for over two years and living together for about six months, when she begins to suspect that Horatio is being unfaithful... /Sequel to: EVENTUALLY/ DuCaine; HipHuggers -REWRITTEN!
1. Chapter 1

BETA READ by _Lady Anemone_ & _LA Calleigh_.

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**Disclaimer:** All the characters of CSI: Miami are the property of CBS Broadcasting Inc and Alliance-Atlantis Communications. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**CHALLENGE, in the same universe as my series POSITIVE/NEGATIVE.**

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Chapter 1

Lieutenant Horatio Caine heard the click as the white door connected with the lock behind him. The apartment was entirely dark and the red haired man assumed the woman who shared his home had already gone to bed. She probably hadn't waited for him and had crawled under the sheets. By the light of the moon, which invaded through the large sliding window, he could just see where he was walking, while he maneuvered to the kitchen. His footsteps sounded hollow on the parquet floor.

The lieutenant laid his house keys on the kitchen counter, and when the nickel made contact with the marble a little clink echoed through the dark and empty room. His weary bright blue eyes caught the fierce green digits of the microwave, which always indicated the right time, just at the moment they changed to 01.59. He sighed. It seemed to be getting later every night.

Calleigh was certainly lying in bed already. He let the black fabric of his suit jacket glide over his shoulders, nonchalantly flung the waistcoat over the nearest chair and undid the upper button of his shirt with his right hand. His exhausted eyes slid over the dark shapes of his furniture and Horatio decided to go to bed as well. It had been a long and heavy day for the man.

A frown creased his deeply lined forehead as he yawned. His feet dragged him to the pitch-dark hall. When he noticed he had actually ended up by his daughter's room instead of his own, Horatio decided to check on their daughter first before going to bed himself. He silently opened the bright pink painted door, opposite the master bedroom. He tiptoed silently to the little wooden crib where Emily slept, trying not to disturb the little one's sleep. The scene he saw when he bent over the baby made a smile grow on his face.

She slept as beautifully as her mother, gently sucking on her thumb. It had probably been too warm, because she had kicked the little covers off her tiny body. Horatio carefully tucked his beautiful girl in again and walked out of the room. He left the little one's door ajar, so her parents would hear her scream if she woke up and blindly, and followed the hall to their bedroom. Their door wasn't entirely shut, either.

He creakingly pushed the door open further and then walked on his toes to the edge of the double bed. His beloved sleeping beauty was lying there looking so pretty. As she dozed, a smile appeared onto her face as Horatio cautiously bent over her. She had to be at least a little bit awake...

o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°

For more than twelve years, they had worked together and had tried to stay just colleagues. Although there had always been a dormant desire for much more than a friendship and there was no denying Calleigh and Horatio had had a tight bond from the start, their relationship had nearly always been strictly professional. If you could even call it a 'relationship'. She looked up to the guy, and she had been walking a hell of a lonely road with him from day one. Until Horatio had suddenly noticed the road wasn't lonely anymore, realizing she was walking it with him, right at his side, like she had been doing from the beginning.

And for all those years, they had done their utmost to conceal their deep feelings for each other and to keep them under control. About two years ago, Horatio had accidentally shot off his mouth to Frank, in an exceptionally drunken state, after a case that had lasted forty-eight hours. Not that Horatio was drunk that often, but when he and Frank were in a bar together, there was no other way it could end...

The following day, Sergeant Tripp had taken the lieutenant aside for a moment. This time he was sober, though. Unfortunately, he hadn't forgotten. Frank had still remembered what the lieutenant had said to him as well.

_"Horatio... About what you said to me yesterday... Did you mean that?" _

_"Frank,"_ the lieutenant had sighed, _"Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"_

The MDPD-Sergeant's jaw had dropped in shock immediately and it had seemed like the man was speechless, before tripping over his words, _"So, you really meant what you said, yesterday, a-about... Calleigh?" _

He almost whispered the last word, her name: 'Calleigh', and not only her name was beautiful or meant 'beautiful', but the whole girl behind the name was just beautiful as well, and not only on the outside. She could be incredibly hard on the people across the table from her in the interrogation room, but her heart was of gold, just like her straight long hair. Horatio had never met such a beautiful woman before, and had probably been in love with her since the first time he saw her.

He had uttered an ironic little chuckle. _"Yes." _

o°o°o°o°

The sergeant hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut, naturally. Frank was just like that. When CSI Duquesne had turned up at Miami Dade Police Department the very same day, to collect a file of an old case to compare with the current one, Frank had 'accidentally'...

_"I'm going back to the ballistics lab, Horatio's waiting for the results." _

_"I'm pretty sure about that... " _

Calleigh's forehead had immediately creased in a frown, not really understanding what the sergeant was actually talking about. To be honest, she hadn't even had the faintest idea. _"What do you mean by that?" _

_"Horatio is carrying a torch for you, Calleigh." _He gave her a significant look she couldn't interpret... yet.

Calleigh had looked at him mystified, had just shaken her head and turned around to leave. She normally would have kept asking until she knew exactly what was going on, but Horatio had been waiting for the results. She had a job to do. When she had walked out of the door, she was still wondering what Frank meant. The sergeant had called something after her, but she couldn't hear him anymore.

o°o°o°o°

Back at the lab, she had walked right into Horatio's arms, in a manner of speaking. When she had walked out of the elevator, she had noticed Horatio at Paula's bureau. He had just asked her to page his Ballistics expert. The lieutenant had been checking his messages when he was turned around by the sound of the high heels of her boots on the shiny floor. _"Paula? Ms. Duquesne's already here." _

_"Hi..." _

_"Have you collected the file of the Montenegro case?" _

She had nodded, unconsciously making the smile on her boss' face grow wider at her reply. The smile that had immediately surfaced when Calleigh had walked out of the elevator. A very rare smile that wasn't often seen.

_"Good... I'm pretty sure there's a connection between that case and our shooting of this morning. Have you already run the bullet striations through the computer?" _

_"Not just yet... I'm actually on my way to my territory." _

She had reflected her unequalled smile into Horatio's direction. He believed the voltage of her smiles could provide a whole industry worth of electricity. Not to mention the electricity he always felt between the two of them. That thought had drawn a smile and a chuckle from the lieutenant, too.

_"Fine... I'll walk with you." _Calleigh had unconsciously smiled. _"What?" _

She had only shaken her head and had pushed open the glassy door of her Ballistics lab, which was neatly organized. She still didn't understand how she had been able to find everything back there after Markham left. When she had started in Ballistics again, it had been a real mess. She had laid the file on her steel table and Horatio had followed her on foot.

She had taken her white lab coat off the peg and put it on, over her light blue top. The CSI had untucked her straight blond hair from the lab coat and had taken the evidence bag that laid onto the table. She had taken a scalpel and slid that over the edge of the bag, over the red evidence tape with her initials 'CD' on. Then, she had held it tilted to one side and had shaken thirteen casings of a nine millimeter and seven matching bullets in her outstretched right hand.

_"One and all nine millimeters,"_ she had immediately concluded at the sight of the cases and their bullets. With her other hand, she had selected the most intact bullet and had put it under the comparison microscope. This bullet was pretty much mushroomed, but most of the striations were still very visible. While she patiently waited for her match, running the striations through the computer, she felt Horatio moving slightly behind her. Calleigh had only smiled her kilowatt smile.

_"What?" _

She had gradually understood what Frank had meant. Twelve years and she hadn't even once considered it; it had just never occurred to her. She had smiled more widely at the thought of her own blindness. Now the ball had started rolling...

_"Nothing." _

They had both heard the sound and had therefore known the computer had popped up with their match. They had immediately turned to the screen at the same time and bumped into each other. Calleigh had lost her balance and nearly fallen, but her lieutenant had just been able to catch her, with the result that she found herself in his strong arms...

They had looked deeply into each other's eyes and had just been holding onto the moment. When they had suddenly realized what they were actually doing, they had both slightly blushed and moved a couple of inches apart.

_"Horatio..."_

She had looked away for a few seconds, then had gotten her voice back and had looked at her superior, fully realizing that it could never work between them. No matter how much she loved him back.

_"According to the computer here, the gun that was used by the shooting this morning, isn't the same as the one from the Montenegro case," _she had said, instead of the words she had been planning to say.

_"There might be other similarities."_

Nothing else had happened until about two days later, when Calleigh had had a huge breakdown and had tried to kill herself. Luckily, Horatio had been there right on time when she had tremulously called him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Horatio couldn't help planting a soft kiss on her forehead. She was so beautiful when her nights were filled with unworried dreams. Unfortunately, Horatio's kiss took her out of them. First, only her eyelashes moved slightly and then her lids quivered before they opened. She smiled and looked at him with her glistening pure green eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Two," Horatio answered, his look briefly straying to the alarm-clock and then back to her angelic beauty. He sighed and hung his head apologetically, understanding she was getting tired of this.

"I thought we both worked day-shift. Where are you coming from so late?"

"From the lab. Something came up unexpectedly in between shifts."

CSI Duquesne didn't ask anything further. It struck her that, since a few months back, it happened more often that Horatio came home late, and if she wanted to know where he had been, or brought up the fact it happened more often than usual, he tried to pass it off and dodged her questions.

"Our job's never done, is it?" she said, not quite believing her own words. She was lying to herself, and she knew she wouldn't be able to do that much longer. "I've missed you," she purred, pushing herself up with her both hands into a sitting position and pulling her arms around Horatio's neck, but her husband cautiously pushed her away, almost in panic.

"Can I take a shower first?"

"Together?" she beamed.

"Go back to sleep," Horatio said, lightly shaking his red head. "I'll join you in a minute," he promised and briefly kissed her soft lips, barely touching them, then pulling himself out of her grip and almost running to the adjoining little bathroom.

Calleigh looked disappointed for a moment, but then smiled again. "I'll be waiting for you right here, handsome," she whispered, not wanting to wake her sleeping daughter, barely loud enough for Horatio to hear her on his way through the master bedroom. He really didn't know how long he would be able to go on with this, but he knew she was figuring something out fast.

o°o°o°o°

Horatio turned on the shower and started to undress as slowly as he reasonably could. When he was fully naked, he stepped into the shower and as the water ran over his muscles, he closed his eyes and fiercely hoped that Calleigh had fallen asleep again, although he seriously doubted she would.

o°o°o°o°

And he had been right. When he slid under the covers next to her, half an hour later, he felt her wet lips on his freshly showered body. Horatio had taken his time. He felt her breath onto his bare chest. And before he even had the chance to roll on his side, he felt her one leg sliding over his hips. Calleigh hungrily crawled onto his pelvic bone, bended over and kissed his rough lips. He kissed her back hard, fully realizing it was pure torture to him that he couldn't give her more anymore. So, he pushed her off him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm exhausted," Horatio answered, not really lying this time.

"That happens more often lately," Calleigh said, thoughtfully. "How long has it been since we made love?" They had been intimate only twice since Emily's birth, and their daughter would turn six months that Friday.

"It has been a very tough day."

"I've heard that one before, too," she said, yet she gently slid off her husband's muscled body and rolled on her side in irritation, turning her back to him. Calleigh was very aroused, and it ached not being able to release it.

"I love you." "If you say so."

'If only you knew,' Horatio thought.

o°o°o°o°

At four in the morning, Calleigh stood up to go to the toilet and to check on Emily, just as the sound of Horatio's cell phone filled their bedroom. She didn't say anything.

Horatio subtly waited to pick up until his new wife had left the master bedroom and when her light footfalls neared the bed again, he abruptly ended the call. She still didn't say a word.

The first few days after Speed's death, Horatio had acted distant as well, just when she had needed him the most, although they hadn't been a couple yet then. After that period, their bond had become stronger than ever before, but Horatio always seemed to shield himself from everything that happened around him at these critical moments; moments like Speed's funeral. Oh she still heard the shots... She did. Horatio maybe just unconsciously tried to protect himself from further emotional harm? His life hadn't really been a very happy one until the day Calleigh and he had gotten together.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Calleigh sat down behind her bureau at Ballistics, still thinking about Horatio's behavior of the past few months. She laid Alexx's report down on the pile and rested her head on her hands, leaning with her arms on the steel tabletop and staring at a point somewhere in the distance. She didn't even notice one of her teammates walking into her lab.

"Hi." Calleigh didn't give any evidence that she had even heard his voice. "I think..." he began, until he figured Calleigh wasn't even listening, which was very unusual. "Calleigh?"

Hearing her name immediately pulled the southern belle out of her clouded thoughts. "What?" She looked up at the other detective with her pure emerald eyes, truly mystified. She hadn't heard a word of what Ryan had been saying about the case.

"You have been acting strange lately."

"You're chasing ghosts," Calleigh replied, realizing she had forgotten her bullets at post and standing up to get them to run through the compare microscope, leaving Ryan with a frown between his eyebrows. Her denials that she was acting strangely rang false.

o°o°o°o°

Calleigh met the Medical Examiner halfway. "You forgot these," Alexx said. "To forget about your evidence is very unlike you, especially when it comes to bullets." She opened her mouth to reply to Alexx's comment, but was cut off by her, "Honey... Are you alright? You seem a little unhappy lately."

"I'm fine!" she said through gritted teeth, hating having to hear about her strange behavior for the second time in only a few minutes. If there was anyone who was acting strange, it was definitely Horatio, not her. "Thanks, Alexx." She accepted the evidence bag with the retrieved bullets and walked back to Ballistics. She didn't say a word as she quickly walked past Ryan, who met the Medical Examiner's gaze and saw a look of concern on her forehead as well.

o°o°o°o°

"Would you mind running this for me?" Calleigh asked DNA analyst Valera, holding up a little evidence bag containing a bloodstained mushroomed bullet. She handed her the mushroomed bullet and disappeared. "Don't forget to page me when you have got the DNA results!"

It was quite uncharacteristic for the always too curious female Duquesne. Usually, she preferred to wait for the results. 'Maybe she's got another case as well,' Valera thought, not really remembering if there could be another case. She didn't think about it anymore and held the evidence bag at an angle, so a mushroomed twenty-eight caliber landed into her right hand. Eyeing the blood on it, she sighed and stroked a swab over it to run through CODIS. Routine.

o°o°o°o°

Detective Wolfe joined Delko in the recently renovated A/V-lab. "You got anything from the surveillance tapes?"

"No," Eric replied, "Except for a young couple making out in the back of a black SUV." No one who got taped in such situations seemed to realize they could be in view of a camera. "I'm going to be busy for a while," Eric sighed, gently tapping on the pile of tapes on the table beside the computer.

Ryan thought for a moment before saying, "Has it struck you Calleigh's been acting strange lately?"

Eric looked up at the younger detective immediately. "I thought she was only acting like that to me," he said, relieved that he wasn't the only one who was rebuffed by the Bullet Girl and the only one who had noticed at first, and then a little anxious, because if she was acting like that towards everyone, there had to be something seriously wrong.

"No, she's–" Ryan began, but the detective couldn't quite finish his own sentence, because right then Alexx walked in with a transparent little evidence bag and a case file in her hand. "Do you guys have any idea where Calleigh is?"

"No," both detectives said at the same time.

"I found something in the bullet hole from our victim," Alexx said, "I initially hadn't noticed it, but it seems like some kind of fabric. And I met Valera in the hallway on my way here. She gave me the results of the bloodstained bullet, she said she had tried to page Calleigh, but she seems to be... unreachable."

Both detectives firstly looked at each other in concern for Calleigh before looking back at Alexx. Detective Wolfe was the first one to speak up and share the subject of their conversation with the Medical Examiner, "She's acting strange."

"I've noticed her odd behavior as well," Alexx said, frowning. "I'll talk about it with Horatio," she promised, determined to ask him about Calleigh the next chance she had, "She just passes it off as if nothing's wrong, as if we're crazy."

"Tell me about it," Ryan agreed, remembering her reply of that morning.

"Maybe that's the best way to handle it," Eric replied.

"Maybe," Ryan sighed, thinking about whether this really was the best option, or should be considered as the last possibility. "He should have noticed as well. Calleigh and he are married after all..."

o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°

"So, that bullet in her shoulder wasn't fatal. Someone must have smothered her."

"Exactly. According to the fabric vessels in her mouth."

"Alright. Thanks, Alexx."

That first opportunity for Alexx to talk to Horatio about his marriage came up the next day. The lieutenant had already turned around to leave his post; he couldn't really seem to think straight. It had been a while since she had seen him like that; the last time had been just after Marisol's death. This hadn't lasted for that long, though, because his sorrow had been washed away by determination to catch the guy soon.

"Horatio?"

"Yes, Alexx?" He replied, turning around again to face her with a fake and faint smile. Alexx saw right through him and she had probably noticed her boss had something on his mind. She was right. He was trying to deal with the lies he told his beautiful wife. That, however, she couldn't have known.

"Is everything alright, I mean, between Calleigh and you?"

"Absolutely," Horatio lied, and tried to add a little smile, confused as to why she would ask something like that. It wasn't exactly the question the man had expected, but it was close.

"With Emily?"

He nodded. "She's fine... Alexx, why are you asking all these questions?"

"Calleigh's been acting strange lately. It didn't strike you?"

"No," H. replied, shaking his red head in ignorance. It was true he didn't see his wife much during the day, but it really hadn't struck him at home either; not that he spent much time at home lately... She had been rather irritated by his odd hours of coming home the last two nights, but hadn't showed any of that the next morning.

"Did she maybe say anything about quitting at the lab or something like that?"

"No, nothing like that. Why should she?"

"I don't know, Horatio," Alexx admitted. "But, we are really worried about her." She decided to be just honest with him; the coroner thought all she could do was to show their concern and the seriousness of the situation at the same time.

"I'll talk to her about it this evening."

"Thanks."

The chance to talk to her about it, however, he didn't get. He hadn't even seen her the rest of the day. And when he came home, she wasn't there either. For once in all these months he was home early...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Who rings this late?" Eric thought, as he quickly took a sip of his just filled glass of Coke and put it on the kitchen table and maneuvered to the front door. He turned the keys right when the bell was rung another time. Delko opened the door and his gaze became rigid. Calleigh stood on his door step, her purse and Emily's diaper bag slung over her shoulder and a suitcase at her feet. He noticed she had been crying recently, according to her streaked mascara and eyeliner. Actually, she had cried all the way to his apartment.

"Calleigh?" he asked, shocked, not quite believing she really stood there.

She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and sobbed. She exhaled a very long and tired breath. "Can we stay here for tonight?" Calleigh barely got the words out of her mouth; her throat had closed up from crying. 'We' meant her little daughter, who was gently asleep in her cradle, and herself. As a reply, Eric pushed the door open further and helped her with the suitcase. She was trembling with sobs.

"Thanks. We will be gone by tomorrow night, don't worry. I just didn't see any other options anymore and–" "Calleigh... You can stay as long as you want to." He closed the door with a thud. "You all right?" Stupid question. She wasn't all right; he had realized at the first glance. "What happened?"

She put her purse and the diaper bag next to where Eric had just put her suitcase down, put a sleeping Emily's cradle on the kitchen sink unit and turned to face him. "I love Horatio more than anything in life, but I can't live with the secrets and lies anymore..."

She flung her arms around Eric's neck and pushed her head against his torso, continuing to sob into his chest. He softly caressed the small of her back and allowed her to cry her heart out. When his fingers accidentally caught the hem of her top and touched her bare skin, he bit his lower lip. He would like to caress her so badly...

She calmed down with his touches and unconsciously, Eric allowed his hand to slip under her top. He couldn't help it. He just had to touch her. He began to caress her cautiously there, and made her moan in anticipation. Horatio hadn't touched her for months and she really longed for intimacy... Both of them knew it was wrong, though...

Calleigh pulled back and kissed the other's lips, hesitantly. Eric's mind told him to stop, but his heart encouraged him to pick the hem of her blue top and pull it over her head, revealing a black bra. As their kiss broke for a few instants, Eric's body cried out to him. The hunger for intimacy was so strong for both of them, it was too compelling and made them forget about the consequences of their actions.

Eric picked her up and put her on the kitchen table, causing his glass of Coke to fall in little pieces on the tiles. Eric stood between her spread legs and wanted to make love to her so strongly that he just lost his self-control. For once, it was very handy Calleigh wore her black skirt. She had been called up to testify in court that day and hadn't taken the time to change clothes yet.

She kicked off her black leather pumps, while her soft hands worked Eric out of his pants. His eager hands slid up her fresh shaven legs, pulling her skirt up with them, and found her black panties. He pushed them aside with his left hand and entered her with his manhood, which had been freed of its garments just in time. Calleigh wrapped her legs around him, trying to pull him deeper. She moaned.

Eric softly pushed her flat on the table and entwined his fingers with hers, holding them above her head. Eric pounded into her hard. For her, it hurt and turned her on at the same time. It didn't take long before he came and collapsed on Calleigh.

After a few minutes of catching their breath, Calleigh pushed herself up in a sitting position, using her released hands and pulled her arms around Eric's neck. They held each other like that for another few minutes, until Calleigh slid off the table.

"I'm sorry," Eric excused himself, "I lost control."

"Both of us," she agreed. "Where's the bathroom?"

"First door on your left," Eric replied, indicating in the direction of the hallway with a thumb.

Calleigh picked up her wrinkled light blue top with deep V-neck and the suitcase and disappeared in the direction Eric had indicated, checking on her daughter in the cradle first, who seemed to have slept through it all.

'If the forbidden fruit tastes like that,' Eric thought, "I want more."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Calleigh could arouse feelings in him: feelings which he didn't even know he could have; feelings which should likely be considered illegal.

She appeared in the kitchen again, in light brown sleeping pants and a matching dark brown camisole with spaghetti straps. The pieces of broken glass were gone, and the tiles had been mopped. In meantime, Eric had taken little Emily out of her cradle. Although he wasn't a father himself, he was really good with small babies. Calleigh looked up at them and chuckled. Apparently, Emily had finally woken up. She took her daughter from 'Uncle' Eric, and sat down on the couch carefully. She pulled her camisole up a little, to show a bare breast. Emily found her mother's nipple almost immediately and started to suck.

While Calleigh was breastfeeding her baby daughter, Eric made up the guestroom so she could nap. He took it for granted Calleigh was going to stay the night in his bedroom, with him in his bed. When he walked into the shared kitchen and living room again, Calleigh just pulled her top down again.

"The– I made the guestroom for Emily."

"Thanks, Eric," Calleigh said, adding one of her usual smiles, which, however, lacked its usual voltage. She felt a little better already, but still had to fake most of what the smile grew from. Happiness. She stood up from the couch with Emily in her arms, swung the strap of the diaper bag over her shoulder and maneuvered to the hallway.

"Second door on your right."

She gave him a little smile and disappeared, tucking her daughter in. She took half an hour to leave the guestroom again, and when she reappeared, Eric led the young mother to the master bedroom.

o°o°o°o°

In the middle of the night, she woke up in panic. 'It wasn't real,' she tried to make herself believe. Calleigh had been squirming about for hours until she finally fell asleep. Eric hadn't seemed to mind. She cautiously pushed a muscled arm from her middle and sat upright. With one hand, she dabbed her eyes. She stood up and searched with her hands for a way to the door.

"OUCH!" she softly exclaimed, not to wake either Eric or Emily in the other room. She had bumped her head hard against the edge of the door.

She put her right hand on the side of her head that had made contact with the door and finally found the door handle with her left one. She pushed the door open a little further and slipped through the chink. She stumbled to the kitchen and let go of her head. Opening a few cupboards, she finally found the glasses and picked one of them. Calleigh closed the cupboard again and moved to the sink, turning the tap on and holding her glass under the jet of cold water, until it was filled half. Then she turned it off and took a sip, feeling the water sliding down through her throat. Until she suddenly heard the sound of bare feet on tiles. She turned around and looked in Eric's chocolate brown eyes.

"You should be more careful. There might still be little pieces of broken glass," he said, looking down at his own bare feet and smiling. Calleigh opened her mouth to promise caution, but couldn't find her voice. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," she whispered, as she put the used glass in the sink.

Eric raised his head, silently inviting her closer, and held her in his muscled arms. She turned around in the embrace, leading his hands to her breasts and leaning forward on the counter. She felt Eric's lips on her neck, and then going to her shoulder.

His rough hands glided down to fiddle with the ribbon of Caleigh's brown sleeping pants, until it fell down her legs. Eric felt his body arouse and turn hard, as his hands slipped under the camisole and roamed over her taunt nipples from behind, subtly teasing her right breast harder.

Calleigh leaned on the counter with both hands now and waited for him to pull his boxers down and enter, causing her to moan. Eric picked her left leg up, making it easier for him to thrust, just at the moment one of her hands clutched Eric's hair and pulled his head in her neck. She still needed the other one as a support. He thrust into her hard. She moaned in pain and pleasure at the same time, still undecided which was stronger. He rode her hard and she wasn't used to this. Horatio was always very gentle, and she had liked it that way, until tasting the opposite...

Eric let go of her leg and slid between her labia searching out her sensitive nub. It didn't take very long for him to find it. As he continued to tease her one breast with one hand, stimulated her nub with the other, and thrust deep into her, it didn't take long for him to get Calleigh over the edge. He himself didn't, but her pleasure was enough for him – sex isn't just about one person. Her body trembled and her walls tightened around his manhood.

"Horatio!" She screamed as her culmination hit her hard.

With shut eyes, she turned around to face Eric and allowed him to put her on the kitchen sink unit. He lowered himself and disappeared between her spread legs... The male CSI kissed her inner thigh, up to her sensitive nub. Eric's tongue pleasured her there, and he gave her the best he had ever given to a girl. Although he hadn't really orgasmed, he tasted his own precum as his tongue entered an excited Calleigh, who grasped the edge of the counter on which she was sitting.

"Don't stop, Horatio!" She moaned.

Eric continued, but couldn't bring himself to stand up and penetrate her anymore. He wanted her, true, but he also realized it should be the last time for intimacy between the two CSIs. He had unconsciously taken advantage of her vulnerability. And just because he loved her so much, it had to be the last time. She loved Horatio, and she would realize soon what she had done. He couldn't let Calleigh make any more mistakes. Because, she would always love Horatio...

This could be considered a good thing and a bad one at the same time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was only eight o'clock in the morning when CSI Calleigh Duquesne fired the bullets of her own gun at the fire range of the Ballistics lab at the Crime Lab of Miami Dade. She was crying quietly. Tears appeared under her safety goggles, searching for a way down her flushed cheeks. Eric and she had driven to the lab together that day.

She undid her safety goggles and ear protectors and laid them next to her Glock. She tried to wipe her tears away, but it was useless; they just kept flooding. What had she done?

Calleigh left the fire range and entered a pitch-dark Ballistics lab. She switched the fluorescent lamps on and shut the door behind her. Her gaze encountered a picture of herself, very pregnant on the lap of a very happy and smiling Horatio. It had been taken a week before Emily's birth. She walked over to the bookcase on which the photo frame stood and picked it up. A tear fell down on it. She leaned with her back against the wall and softly slid down it, until she sat on the shining grey tiles. She really didn't have the faintest idea what to do.

She loved Horatio more than anything and she would give her life for their daughter Emily, but she did love Eric as well... Although it could be possible she was actually confusing friendship and love. She didn't have the faintest idea. Even the evidence of the case didn't give her enough assurance anymore. It seemed as if the concept of certainty had disappeared in thin air.

Just as Calleigh fell down on the tiles, Eric walked past the Ballistics lab. He had been on his way to the break room to get a cup of coffee, but wanted to check if there was anything he could do to make her feel better first. He knew she was still upset with Horatio. Softly pushing the door open, Eric entered Calleigh's territory. "Calleigh?"

She looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes and didn't say anything as he walked over to her and sat down on the floor next to her. Calleigh quietly shut her tear soaked eyes. "I–" She started, but a continuation to the sentence wasn't heard. Until she opened her emerald depths and sighed. "Could you leave me alone for a minute?"

Eric nodded. "Sure." He stood up to get his cup of coffee and told himself to check on her later that day, but her cold fingers closed around his wrist and pulled him down again.

"I'm sorry."

"Sshhhh... Everything's going to be alright," Eric said, as the trembling Ballistics-expert concealed in his chest.

"We shouldn't have had sex with each other," she cried.

"No, we shouldn't have," Eric whispered, more to himself than to Calleigh.

Right on the moment Calleigh fell in the other CSI's arms, Horatio witnessed what happened through the glass. The lieutenant had wanted to talk to her about what Alexx had told him the day before, but witnessing what was going on in the Ballistics lab, he couldn't bring himself to walk in and…

o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°

When he had found the note and Calleigh's key on the coffee table the previous evening, Horatio had really wondered what had made her do this. He didn't think she would have found out what her husband was hiding this fast, unless Tripp had told her anything, but Horatio trusted him, and Frank had sworn not to tell anyone.

Alexx had told him Calleigh had been acting strange lately, but... he hadn't really noticed her acting differently. If she was a little moody sometimes, he usually blamed the recent motherhood. It wasn't easy. If Emily woke up at night, they took it in turns, so neither of her parents had to get up all the time, but whenever their daughter cried, she always woke both of her parents.

_Horatio, I love you, but I can't be with you anymore. The secrets and lies hurt too much, and I can't continue to pretend that things are okay, because they're not. I'll be staying with a friend until I can find a place of my own. I know we have to work together, so I will be as professional as possible. Sorry things have to end this way. –Calleigh._

He had already read the note for the fourth time, but nothing was sinking in. Horatio had looked down at his watch and had concluded it was already too late to call her; besides, he was sure she wouldn't pick up the phone if she saw Horatio's name on the screen, and such things shouldn't be talked through over the telephone.

They would talk about it later in private. She had never hinted she would take the next day off, so... Maybe they would be able to sneak off for a while to talk about what had been going on.

Lieutenant Horatio Caine really wasn't a jealous type of person, but when he saw Eric there, holding the mother of his child, something snapped in him. It hurt, and his pain had to be expressed. Before it was too late...

He told himself to come back later; to give her a little time, and disappeared in his office, behind a pile of reports that still had to be read through and signed. It cost him so much effort.

o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°

Only a few minutes later, Horatio saw Eric leaving Calleigh's lab and heading to the break room. He wanted to give her a little time; plus it would be quite strange if Horatio walked in right after Eric had left. She would realize her husband had waited for her co-worker to leave.

About half an hour later, Horatio made his way to the fire lab.

As the lieutenant neared Ballistics, Calleigh wasn't anywhere in sight. Then, he heard a shot, indicating she was at the fire range. The sound proof walls didn't block out everything. Horatio walked further and noticed her. Dark grey linen pants hugged her hips in all the right ways, and a black V-neck shirt let him fantasize about what it was covering. She was wearing her black leather pumps, which were about four inches high, and made her look so much taller than she was.

She stood bent over her table, having just dismantled the Colt King Cobra that likely had been used during the drive-by the day before at Bal Harbour Beach, where five teenage girls had been shot and one had been killed. It had been confiscated that morning. According to a little GSR in the barrel of the Cobra, it had been used recently, so it could be an option. Something in the weapon had malfunctioned, however, when she had tried to fire it the first time; likely caused by the little firing pin. So she had picked another Colt King Cobra out of her gun vault, in case anything had to be switched to make it fire and now she was breaking down the revolver to see what could have caused the misfire. There was a good chance that it had been the firing pin, but it was too early to draw conclusions.

Horatio looked at her from the doorway. She switched the barrels of the revolvers, because she really needed the original barrel to be able to compare striations. When Calleigh had finished doing this, she laid the gun down and took up her safety goggles and ear protectors. The weapon was only supposed to be dismantled by the manufacturer, but CSI Calleigh Duquesne was really good with firearms, as the college nickname Bullet Girl already said, and she just loved to take firearms apart...

She loaded the revolver with exactly the same type Magnum .357s that had been found at the crime scene and in the victims and put six rounds into the revolver's chambers, to have maximal firepower. She assumed someone who handled the Cobra during the drive-by, didn't really care about maximum carrying safety, but thought firepower was more important.

Calleigh was so lost in thought, she didn't hear Horatio's footsteps, but after a few seconds, she obviously felt someone near her. She immediately assumed it was Eric to check on her. "Eric, I'm alright," she said, holding up the weapon in position. "Don't worry."

"Calleigh?" Horatio's velvet-like rumble voiced. She turned on her black heels quickly and looked in the bright blue depths of her husband's eyes, which were filled with hurt. Hurt she had caused him... "I do worry."

She was so shocked she just let go of the Colt King Cobra. Unfortunately, it was still loaded and fired a bullet into Calleigh's calf...

"OUCH!" She immediately lost her balance and got caught by Horatio, who lowered himself with Calleigh sideways on his lap. With one hand, he immediately got his cell phone and called for medical reinforcement. "I need medical assistance on the fire range immediately!" The bullet wound bled badly, and Calleigh moaned just once more before she fainted in pain.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Everything that happened next went by fast. Medical reinforcement entered the fire range and tended her calf as best they could, before Calleigh was brought to Mercy Hospital to retrieve the bullet and get the wound stitched up. She had been unconscious the whole ride to the hospital.

o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°o°

The constant beeping of the monitors that registered her weak vital functions, brought Calleigh out of the darkness. Her head turned aside for a moment and noticed a concerned Horatio. He cautiously held her hand in his larger one and ran his thumb over the back of it. "Sweetheart." She averted her gaze and looked at the ceiling. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Horatio–" His name was the only thing she said.

He understood. "You should have talked to me first."

"You were never there anymore," Calleigh whispered.

Horatio was silent for a moment. "I love you." "I- I don't think I'm able to believe you anymore." "I love you more than anything in life, Calleigh, except for maybe our little daughter. That's why I need to tell you something now." He paused and waited for her to say something.

Whatever it was that Horatio wanted to tell her, Calleigh knew she likely couldn't handle it, but she had waited so long for the answers her husband was finally going to give her... She told herself to be honest with him. "I don't–"

Horatio looked at her with his piercing sapphire eyes. She looked down at their entwined hands and changed her mind. Instead of telling him she didn't think she could handle it, she nodded. She could listen at least. She had wanted to get answers for a very long time, but there was something else that made her doubt: maybe she just didn't want to hear it; not anymore. She couldn't think straight at the moment, but whispered her reply, "All right."

"I can't tell you everything yet, but there is someone who can fill in the gaps for you." Calleigh didn't understand. "We could tell you everything together." Although she still wondered who 'we' meant, Calleigh felt herself lightly nodding.

"I'll be right back here," Horatio said, softly pinching her hand and standing up to leave the room.

Everything was still blurry for her. The last thing she remembered was the Colt King Cobra falling on the floor of her fire range and a Magnum .357 perforating her left calf. She didn't remember Horatio catching her. She also didn't have the foggiest idea of how much time had passed. It could have been days or minutes as far as she was concerned. In fact, it had only been a little over three hours ago since she had been brought to Mercy Hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Horatio arrived back at the hospital not even an hour later in the company of a seventeen-year-old girl, who followed him closely and looked around her rather nervously. When they walked into Calleigh's room, she was just finishing a cup of pudding. As the two of them walked in, she took the empty spoon out of her mouth, put it in the now empty little pot, set it on the white bedside table and looked up curiously.

She took in the image. The girl who stood beside Horatio looked about eighteen years old. She had her long dark blond curly hair in a braid over her right shoulder; her rather red lips slightly quivered and her emerald green eyes showed panic. Her pale complexion matched Calleigh's. The CSI's eyes wandered over the anonymous girl thoroughly, just like she would do with a suspect on the job.

The teenage girl wore a greenish blue top with V-neck and a light grey jacket that was only buttoned halfway. Her light brown satin skirt with cheerful dark brown flowers didn't quite reach her knees and seemed to fit her perfectly. Her dark blue zippered boots gave the finishing touch to her appearance. A combination Calleigh would never dare to wear, but she seemed to get away with it. High heels taken in consideration, she was still quite tall and rather curvy. She was pretty.

Calleigh's gaze fell on a silver pendant in the form of an origami crane. There was also a pure silver little key on the chain, which could have been from a diary. She vaguely recognized the girl, but couldn't really place her immediately. "Calleigh? Do you remember Elizabeth?"

Now she knew and nodded at Horatio's question. "Elizabeth Delaney, right?"

Horatio nodded. "Do you remember our daughter's birth?" he continued.

"Of course. Vividly. How would I ever be able to forget?" "When you nearly went in a shock because of the hemorrhage, she arrived at the hospital with serious stab wounds." Calleigh didn't understand what it had to do with their marriage, but did listen carefully. Lieutenant Caine found it a very inappropriate time to tell her about her half sister, but his marriage was at stake. He sighed.

"I ordered the team to process the scene and had Ryan run everything through the database. According to the results of the DNA that had been collected at the scene, Mr. Delaney didn't seem to be Elizabeth's biological father," Horatio paused, "CODIS did pop up with another match and it was a quite shocking one. Elizabeth seemed to have the same father as you."

"No," Calleigh said, shaking her blond head in confusion.

Horatio gave her a little time to assimilate it. "Eric has done everything to keep the case hidden, because, if IAB had heard anything about this..."

"Stetler would try to discredit the Crime Lab," Calleigh nodded. She knew Stetler and his dislike of everything that had to do with Horatio or the lab he currently led.

"Exactly. No other DNA was found and the team had gotten stuck with the case. I visited Elizabeth once when she was still in the hospital, but hadn't heard anything more until two months ago. Since her case was still considered current, I was informed when she tried to throw herself under a train and was hospitalized."

Calleigh's eyes went larger with every word Horatio said. Elizabeth still trembled, and she looked like she was close to falling to pieces.

"I didn't tell anyone except Frank, who I convinced to take Elizabeth for a little while, until she had fully recovered. I wanted to make sure she wouldn't try another suicide attempt. She trusted me and I couldn't give up on her, Calleigh. She's been through a lot these past months."

Elizabeth just stared at some point in the distance.

"I wanted to catch the one who did this to your half sister," Horatio continued, his voice a little softer. "I really wanted to tell you, but I couldn't seem to find the right moment. I would have been forced to tell you who Elizabeth was. You were so happy with our baby daughter and I couldn't shatter it. Your happiness was more important to me than the truth."

Calleigh bit her bottom lip in an attempt to hide her tears at his last words, but it was only an attempt and her emerald green eyes flooded with tears. Horatio pulled his arms around his wife. She allowed him to and said, "You didn't want to upset me..."

"No," Horatio replied.

Calleigh sobbed. He had only wanted to keep the mother of his child happy. She realized the reason behind his strange behavior now, and every second she blamed herself more for not trusting her husband. What had she done?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I need to go to the bathroom," Elizabeth said, as the couple let go of each other an instant later. She had the feeling it was best to give Horatio a little privacy with her half sister.

Horatio had been there for her over the past months, every time she had been thinking a little too much about too much. Every time she had wanted him to be there, and even when she hadn't. Whether she had liked it or not.

'Calleigh should be quite happy with him,' Elizabeth thought, her dark blue high heels sounding loudly as she walked through the hallway of the hospital, looking for the ladies' room.

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"Horatio... I should have never doubted your–" She swallowed. "I thought–" "I would never do something like that."

He still sat on the edge of the hospital bed and pulled her in his embrace once more as she cried on Horatio's chest. The memories of the previous night filled her mind. As Horatio held the crying CSI in his warm arms, she couldn't let go of the thought of being in Eric's. "I thought I would never do something like that either," she whispered. Horatio didn't say anything. She would love to turn back time.

When she had calmed down a little, she lightly pushed Horatio away.

"I need–" "Time," Horatio finished, as she lightly nodded. When we have to make some hard choices, we just need time to consider the options. "And I... will... give you as much time as you want."

"Thanks. I think I just need some time to think about what I really want to do with my life."

There was a very long and uncomfortable silence between the two CSIs, until Horatio asked, "When are you going to get released?" Calleigh answered in a very pragmatic tone. "The bullet wasn't too deep, so I guess I don't have to stay overnight," she continued. "Emily and I will be staying with a friend for the time being," she added, watching the hope go out of Horatio's face.

"Alright... You are not going to the lab tomorrow morning, are you?"

"The case has to be finished," she stated, indignant. Typically Calleigh, always worrying about her cases, especially evidence and ballistics... "I'll ask Camden to cover for you."

"Camden–" "Is very good at his job and has asked you to cover for him many times before, too," Horatio said, matter-of-factly, before she began to argue like usual. "I want you to take off until at least the end of this month." She rolled her pure emerald eyes in reply. "Then you'll be having more time to be with our Emily as well."

"True."

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"Elizabeth?" Horatio said, absentmindedly himself, only a few minutes after giving Calleigh a soft kiss on the cheek for goodbye.

The seventeen-year-old girl looked up at his bright blue depths, as they continued walking down the white sterile hospital corridor. Until Horatio stopped them and looked at her with a concerned gaze. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her tear filled emerald eyes. Lieutenant Caine wasn't someone that could be fooled easily, and the harder you tried, the more obvious it became for him...

"I'm fine."

He softly lifted her chin. "I've heard that one before," Horatio said, referring to his very stubborn wife. Elizabeth gave him a little smile, and just pushed her head against Horatio's chest. She consequently felt his arms around her trembling figure and enjoyed the moment. She was very physical and liked hugging, but there had never been anyone.


End file.
